Filmmakers Nominated For Award

“Titanic” director James Cameron heads the list of filmmakers who are nominated for the Directors Guild of America’s best feature film award.

Joining Cameron on the list, announced Monday, are James L. Brooks for “As Good as It Gets,” Curtis Hanson for “L.A. Confidential,” Steven Spielberg for “Amistad” and Gus Van Sant for “Good Will Hunting.”

Spielberg’s nomination was his eighth, tieing him with Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder and Fred Zinnemann for most DGA nominations in the feature film category. Spielberg has won twice - for “The Color Purple” in 1985 and “Schindler’s List” in 1993.

Cameron, Hanson and Van Sant are first-time nominees, while Brooks was nominated for “Broadcast News” in 1987 and won in 1983 for “Terms of Endearment.”

The DGA award winner has gone on to win the best director Academy Award all but four times since the honor’s inception in 1949. Spielberg is one of the exceptions, losing the Oscar in 1985 to Sydney Pollack for “Out of Africa.” More recently, Ron Howard won the DGA award in 1995, while Academy voters gave the Oscar to Mel Gibson for “Braveheart.”

The DGA winner will be announced March 7.